WELCOMEto the peaceful and friendly atmosphere of a Thai forest Buddhist monastery in the Southern Highlands, NSW, Australia. This is a place where you can learn and apply Buddhist teachings to add inner peace in your daily life.

Monks and volunteers have created teaching tools to simplify the complicated Buddhist teachings into modern day language. Plants in the monastery gardens are carefully chosen to link with Buddhist history and add more peaceful and pleasant feelings to both meditators and visitors.

We constantly carry out in depth research of Buddhist history, by visiting many archaeological sites and museums, and by meeting with experts in many universities around the world. The knowledge that we have acquired from this research helps us to extract the spiritual values of Buddhist teachings from the veil of cultural practises.

Our monthly meditation retreats are highly attended by people from all over Australia. We combine the beautiful rural location, archaeological history of Buddhism, ancient artefacts, stone carvings, visual arts, Buddhist chanting, and yummy Thai vegetarian food, with many outdoor activities i.e. Tai Chi Qi Gong, walking & sitting meditation in the gardens. Many people attend up to 6 retreats per year.

Sunday is a very suitable time when individuals, couples or the entire family can enjoy the beautiful view and art work around the monastery. Visitors are welcome to participate in our programs without changing their religion!! Parents and young children can experience offering vegetarian food to monks, listening to Buddhist blessings, short sitting meditation, Dhamma talk, and can feel free to ask questions to the monks. Every Sunday 11am-2pm.

Please read more from the above tabs.

For more enquiries, please contact us by email.

Instagram

To follow up our current activities, please visit Instagram @kimmcsweeney52 or #sunnataramforestmonastery.

After experiencing teaching Buddhism in many high schools, we have decided to include a section in our website to help those students studying Buddhism in HSC. Read more in 'Dhamma Teachings/Buddhism for Students'

Buddhist teaching is always beneficial and practical for everyone even in this digital age. Once we practise Dhamma righteously, we can achieve inner peace without being involved in religious rituals and supernatural stories. Read more in 'Dhamma Teachings/ The Principal Teachings of Buddhism Part I, II and III by Ven. Ajahn Buddhadasa, Suan Mokh, Thailand.

Teaching Monks: Further Training in Australia

Sunnataram Forest Monastery now establishes a special training program: Teaching Monks: Further Training in Australia, to support international Buddhist monks who want to learn how to teach Buddhism in Australia and the West.

We welcome any non-Thai monk who would like to undertake this program to experience teaching Dhamma and helping Dhamma work in Australian culture for 3 months. Please email us.

Thank you & Sadhu

We would like to thanks to all friends who kindly donate Bunning Gift cards and other gift cards to the monks. We have been using them to purchase many building materials to maintain the monastery and to support our Dhamma teaching programs. May all happiness and wisdom be with all of us. Sadhu

Need to build a new meditation hall.

The Karuna Cloister: the Shrine of Compassion started in 2007 with the concrete slab and timber poles in place. Due to the increase in Dhamma teaching activities, the monks decided to pause the construction of both Karuna and Metta cloisters until the need arised. Now it's the time. Please see more detail in Project / Building Karuna Cloister for meditation 2015. and Lists of generous donors.

Tue 26th Dec 17 - 1st Jan 18

Boxing Day & New Year 2018 Retreat

Activities for Feb 2018

Fri 2nd - Sun 4th Feb 18

The First Weekend Meditation Retreat of 2018: The Power of Metta (Unconditional Love)

Dear Everyone,

Thank you for your mindful participation in the first retreat of 2018 at Sunnataram Forest Monastery.

We hope you have all had a very peaceful time, a safe trip home and now have some new skills and tactics to develop the Power of Love this year.

Please let me know if you would like a copy of the chanting, or clarification of any of the teachings.

Please feel free to come back to SFM any Sunday for yummy lunch and Dhamma talk, either alone or with your friends and family.

No need to book, just arrive by 11am

I have attached the group photo and hope to hear back about your comments or experience.

Venerables Phra Mana, LuongPo Sawat, Phra Maha Wichai, the volunteers and I look forward to seeing you all again.

Spend this long weekend to further our Dhamma wisdom to gain more liberation. Like peeling an onion, experience how different inner qualities can delete different kinds of attachment, and be freed in each moment of realization.

Before booking for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Thank you.

Places are still available. Please send in the application form at least 7 days in advance.

Activities for April 2018

Fr i20th - Sun 22nd Apr 18

Weekend Meditation Retreat: Joy & Wisdom

'Joy in the beginning, Joy in the middle and Joy in the end'. The three moments of joy that will change our life to be like in the heaven. This weekend we will learn to develop mindfulness and wisdom to be free from unhappiness and gain more joy in life.

Before booking for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Thank you.

Places are still available. Please send in the application form at least 7 days in advance.

Activities for May 2018

Fri 4th -Sun 6th May 18

Weekend Meditation Retreat: Like a drop of water on the lotus leaf.

Before booking for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Thank you.

Places are still available. Please send in the application form at least 7 days in advance.

Sun 20th - Sat 26th May 18

Vesak retreat: The Middle Way

We accept only people who have done many meditation retreats in Sunnataram Forest Monastery only. The purpose is to encourage these people to further their understanding and practise of the Dhamma in the same style which they all are familiar with. Their pariticipation is at the discretion of the teacher. Thank you.

Before you book in for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be disrespectul and unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Thank you.

Places are still available. Please send in the application form at least 7 days in advance.

Activities for June 2018

Before you book in for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be disrespectul and unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Thank you.

Places are still available. Please send in the application form at least 7 days in advance.

Activities for July 2018

Fri 20th - Sun 22nd Jul 18

Weekend Meditation Retreat: Awareness & Compassion

Love brings happiness, but compassion helps to remove troulbes away from all of us. Let's learn how the combination of mindfulness and wisdom can help us to find peace and to promote compassion at the same time.

Before you book in for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be disrespectul and unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Thank you.

Places are still available. Please send in the application form at least 7 days in advance.

Activities for August 2018

Fri 17th - Sun 19th Aug 18

Weekend Meditation Retreat: The Seven Steps to Enlightenment

Enlightenment is practical and achievable when we learn to cultivate the right qualities within us. This weekend we will practise sitting & walking meditation and listening the Dhamma talk of these seven steps towards inner peace.

Before you book in for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Please email us asap if you have to cancel your booking.Thank you.

Fri 31st Aug - Sun 2nd Sept 18

Weekend Meditation Retreat: Nirvana

Nirvana doesn't mean Inner Peace after death, but it is the blissful happiness which everyone can experience in the present life. Let's use consolidate our Dhamma qualities and achieve the end of unhappiness in the present moment.

Before you book in for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Please email us asap if you have to cancel your booking.Thank you.

Activities for September 2018

Fri 29th - Mon 1st Sept 18

Labour Day Long Weekend Meditation Retreat: Awakening in the garden

The Buddha was born in the garden, attained Enlightenment in the garden, taught in the garden and passed away in the garden. Let us enjoy the practise of sitting & walking meditation in the monastery gardens and experience how the calming power of nature enabled the Buddha to attain Inner Peace 2600 years ago.

Before you book in for the retreat, please be sure that you can complete the whole retreat. Leaving the retreat earlier is considered to be disrespectul and unfair to many friends who can't come due to your booking and our volunteers who need to prepare the meals. Please email us asap if you have to cancel your booking.Thank you.

Activities for October 2018

Fri 19th - Sun 21st Oct 18

Weekend Meditation Retreat: Heart Blossom

Activities for November 2018

Fri 2nd - Sun 4th Nov 18

Weekend Meditation Retreat: Art of A Beautiful Living

Activities for December 2018

Fri 1st - Sun 3rd Dec18

Last Meditation Retreat for Beginners for the year 2018: Born Pure Again

All retreats run by donation. We recommend a donation of $55 per night to cover monastery expenses. The monastery makes no profit from your kind donation. If you wish to donate more, your generosity is greatly appreciated, and will ensure the retreat programs continue to help many more people.

Please send your donation to:

Sunnataram Forest Monastery

ANZ Bank

BSB: 012 547

Acc No: 2370-37944

Things We Need

We are grateful for your kind support to the monks, but in the past 25 years the monks have received too many unnecessary things, and they have a ‘big’ problem to store them. We feel responsible for your good Kamma and the waste of your money. For example, many kinds of food expire before the monks can eat, too many towels, toothpaste, soaps and monk’s robes are eaten by mice etc.

While other necessary things that the monks use more often, but not included in the ‘traditional monk gifts’, are not known by supporters.

Since 2008, monks of the Sunnataram Forest Monastery, realizing people’s need for peacefulness of mind, focus their mind and dedicate their energy on teaching Dhamma and conducting monthly and special meditation retreats, for both youth and adults. The result is wonderful, inspiring and brings much rejoicing. There is so much positive feedback that will gladden your heart, so please read the feedback and messages from our website.